The Chemical Romance of a Musical Genius
by xxColorMeCrazyxx
Summary: Based on My Chemical Romance high school/early years. Set in late 90s. Gerard is madly in love with Barbara, but she may break his heart. Will his emotional ups and downs spark a band that is destined to change the world? MCR/Some OC's. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys this is the beginning of my second ever fanfic. It's based on Gerard Way's high school crush (A girl named Barbara that he has mentioned in a few interviews) and his life after graduation, leading into the birth of My Chemical Romance. I've done alot of research and most of the facts that will appear in this story I believe are accurate, but I've also put my own twist on some parts to make the storyline fit better. So don't shoot me if some occurances are not EXACTLY true haha. I hope you guys enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own My Chemical Romance. And gathered alot of my information from interviews of the band.**

* * *

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Gerard's hand shot out from beneath the blanket, flailing around before pounding the snooze button on the alarm clock. He groaned loudly, immediately making his mind up that he would have a shitty day. _68 more days_. He had a running count down until graduation. Until he escaped his hell-hole of a high school. Good old Belleville High, a place where the pretties and the populars walked the halls like royalty. Anyone below this social status was immediately condemned to be tortured for the entirety of their sad high school lives.

"Gerard!" A nasally male voice called from the top of the stairs that led to his basement bedroom. "Come on, man. You're gonna make us late for school."

Gerard laid perfectly still, offering no response.

"Wake up, Gee." His brother's voice was now coming from the doorway.

Gerard rolled over squinting through the darkness. His room was always dark because, the only window was a tiny rectangle of glass that only allowed a small slit of light into the room. This was exactly the way that he liked it. The skinny, awkward boy was standing at the foot of his bed, arms crossed and glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.

"I'm up, Mikes." Gerard muttered, shoving a hand through his longish black hair.

Mikey surveyed the room, with its many comics and drawings plastered over the dark paneled walls. The desk and surrounding floor was littered with crumpled pieces of sketch paper and drawing pens. Two empty coffee cups sat amongst the clutter.

"Long night?" He asked, pushing up his glasses.

"Mm." Gee grunted in agreement as he shuffled past and headed upstairs.

After grabbing a piece of toast, Gerard slung his black, beaten up backpack over his shoulder and he and Mikey stepped out the door. They walked two miles to their high school every day, refusing to step foot on the bus full of cruel, judgmental students. Gerard had experienced the bus one time during his freshman year in high school, and refused to ever set foot on it again. He wouldn't allow his younger brother to go through that kind of ridicule, the hallways of the school were bad enough. So, despite the dangers of the New Jersey streets, the two boys silently made their daily stroll.

"You know, if mom ever finds out that we walk to school every day, we're dead." Mikey finally spoke up.

Gerard pulled the hood of his black sweatshirt over his head and stuffed his hands in the pockets, against the bitter cold air. He thought back to the day he had been held at gunpoint on his way to school during freshman year. He had only been 15 then, and his mother had nearly had a heart attack when she found out. They lived in a dangerous neighborhood, and she had never really allowed them to spend much time outside.

"She won't know." He murmured. Their mother worked a lot, leaving the house before the sun even came up and not returning until later at night.

When they finally reached Belleville High School, they both sighed.

"See you later, Mikes." Gerard said as they split up to head to their first classes.

* * *

Gee stalked down the hall, and entered his remedial math class without making eye contact with anyone. He went to his seat in the farthest back corner and opened his backpack. No calculator, no textbook, just a sketchpad and art pencils. He flipped to a clean page and began drawing a comic sketch of his math teacher as a super villain. This was quite possibly the reason that he was failing. _Oh well. _

When lunch finally came, he avoided the cafeteria filled with the other seniors and went straight to the steps by the back parking lot, just as he did every day. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one, his hands shaking slightly from the cold. He briefly considered quitting the habit; he knew his mother would kill him if she knew. _Fuck it. _He thought and took a long drag.

Something on the other side of the parking lot caught his attention. He spotted the old 85' Eagle pulling into the lot. He shifted a little, so that one of the brick columns hid him from sight. He watched as the car was parked and the driver's side door was flung open. A mass of long, auburn hair appeared, whipping in the wind. The girl kicked the door shut and turned so that Gerard could see her face. Her skin was fair; she had high cheek bones and the most perfect nose. She shoved her sunglasses on top of her head to reveal her heavily lined, green-blue eyes. She twirled her keys with her right hand, while her left clutched a paper drive-thru bag from Burger King. She wore a green over-sized hoodie, that was unzipped to reveal her cut-off Iron Maiden tee and her acid washed jeans were tucked into a ragged pair of combat boots. She was laughing and motioning for someone who was still inside the car to hurry up.

Her name was Barbara Weaver, and Gerard was pretty certain that he was madly in love with her.

* * *

**A/n: There you have it. Sorry it's short. They will get longer. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Here's chapter two. It's longer than the first. Also this may end up including alot more fiction than fact, despite my original intentions. I just may take this fic in a different direction than I had planned. Oh well you know how it is. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own My Chem. Technically I don't own Barbara either, just the persona I have given her.**

* * *

The cigarette almost fell from his lips as he watched her in fascination. He'd had a few crushes in his lifetime, but this was different. He had never been so mesmerized by another human being before. He found himself physically and emotionally wanting her so that it was almost painful. He found the slight swish of her hips and the way she shoved her very long hair out of her face, to be very enticing.

Suddenly, another figure exited the car and Gerard wrinkled his nose in disgust. Jim Anderson sauntered over and, hooking Barbara by the waist, planted a long, passionate kiss on her lips. She threw her arms around his neck and returned the affectionate gesture. Jim pushed her up against the car, causing her to drop her forgotten lunch, and they entered into such a heated tongue war that Gerard was afraid they would rip off their clothing any moment. He turned away as bile rose in his throat and he angrily crushed out his cigarette. Perhaps he had no reason to be angry, after all, Barbara wasn't _his_ girlfriend. It was simply the fact that a guy like Jim didn't deserve a girl like her.

Jim was one of the star football players at Belleville high. A jock. Gerard wasn't one to stereotype people, but Jim just happened to be the most stereotypical jock he had ever known. He was praised for his athleticism and good looks and walked the halls like a god. He had a nasty attitude and the IQ of a gold fish. He was approximately as shallow a puddle and had been nominated Homecoming King this year. There was also a rumor that he had sneaked off and hooked up with the Queen during the dance. He treated his girlfriend like she was nothing more than a trophy. Gerard suspected that the only reason he was even with Barbara was because, well…. She was _hot._

The couple finally released each other and Jim headed off in the other direction. Barbara picked up her bag of Burger King and turned toward Gerard. _Shit. _He thought and picked up his backpack to disappear before she spotted him, but he hadn't realized it was unzipped. All of the contents spilled onto the steps, paper and art supplies flying everywhere. Cursing under his breath, he quickly began shoveling it back into his bag, but it was too late.

"Need some help?" A beautifully husky voice asked.

Gerard's eyes seemed to travel a mile up her long, thin legs before he finally saw her face looking down at him. A half-smile tugging at her lips.

He opened his mouth to respond but he only uttered some strangled, tongue-twisted sound. Before he could stop her, she knelt down and started shuffling the papers into a little stack.

"You're into art I take it?" She asked, flipping through the drawings.

Gerard shrugged, perhaps not talking would be in his best interest. He might have a chance at coming across as mysterious, rather than socially inept.

"These are pretty good." She continued, "I like this one a lot." She added, pausing to study a comic he had been working on for several days. It was a sketch of a handsome, wealthy man crouched in a graveyard and looking into a pond. The reflection that shone back was a sickly, twisted looking boy with hollow eyes.

"So far that's my favorite too." Gerard muttered. So much for not talking.

"Very cool." She grinned. She tucked her hair behind her right ear, revealing a row of five small, silver hoops reaching from lobe to cartilage.

"Thanks." He said quietly, taking the papers from her hand and stuffing them in the bag.

The bell rang and they stood. "You're late for class." He added.

"So are you." She pointed out and then held up her bag. "Besides, I still haven't eaten my lunch."

"If you get caught skipping class _and_ eating food from off campus, you'll get suspended for sure." Gerard informed her.

Barbara mocked a terrified expression. "Oh the horror!" She exclaimed and then laughed good-naturedly "I think you should come join me."

"I don't know." He hesitated, "I have Bio 2 next and Mr. Wilkins already despises me."

"You're being a wuss." She observed, "I'll give you my fries."

Gerard sighed, "Bribing a fat kid with food is not very nice." But he followed after her.

They sat at a picnic table outside the cafeteria and watched as freshmen and sophomores shuffled past with their trays of food. Mikey spotted his brother and gave a shy, awkward wave. Gerard nodded an acknowledgement and turned back to Barbara.

"Who's that?" She asked, biting into her burger.

"My little brother, Mikey."

She gave a nod, "That's cool. I've got a brother too."

Gerard raised a brow, he hadn't known that. Not that he had stalked her or anything, well not really. "Oh? Does he go here?" He asked nonchalantly, vaguely wondering whether that was a creepy or appropriate question.

She let out a laugh, "God no. My mom tried sending him to a private school, but he dropped out last year and ran off with some exotic dancer. We're not sure where he is at the moment."

"Oh…" Gerard bit into a fry, "Errrr I'm sorry. That sucks."

"Yeah, it kind of sucks." She shrugged, "Now all of my mom's attention is on me, but she's been working two jobs ever since my dad left. So, she's never really home to enforce her rules."

Through his mouthful of French fries he made a sound of understanding, then swallowed and said, "Yeah, I know how that is. My mom works a lot too. When I was younger, I stayed with my grandmother almost every day. She's the one who got me so interested in art and music; she's super cool and supportive."

Gerard couldn't believe how easy this girl was to talk to. She seemed very down to earth and nonjudgmental. Plus, they seemed to have come from similar backgrounds and, judging by her Iron Maiden tee, she had great taste in music. Again, Gerard was sickened by the thought of such an awesome girl wasting her time with Jim Anderson.

They chatted a while longer about things that really didn't matter at all, and then finally Barbara stood up and tossed her trash in the garbage bin.

"Well, I guess I'll make an appearance in my World Lit Class before I head home." She said stretching her arms over her head in a quite alluring manner.

Gerard nodded, trying not to watch the way her tall body elongated further as she stretched. "Alright well I'll see you around then, I guess." He slung his bookbag over his shoulder.

"I'm sure you will." She said with a wink, "It was cool finally talking with you, Gerard."

With that, she turned and sauntered away, leaving Gerard to watch after with lust in his eyes and a pounding in his heart.


	3. Chapter 3

Gerard spent the next 3 days hoping to catch sight of Barbara again. He hadn't been able to get her out of his mind since that day at lunch and he couldn't help wishing to hangout with her again. There was no sign of her for the rest of the week, however.

By Friday, Gerard was in a gloomy mood. He was annoyed that Barbara had decided to skip school the same week that he had finally gotten to talk to her face to face. He walked around with an even more pissed off expression than usual. When he and Mikey arrived home Friday afternoon, Gerard threw his backpack down by the door and stormed downstairs to his room. He turned on his radio cranking the music up as loud as it would go and began sketching away to the words of Smashing Pumpkins echoing through his brain.

"_All that you suffer is all that you are_

_All that you smother is all that you are_

_And you're saying, you're seeing, you're saying who you are_

_What takes meaning is cleaning the meaning of who you are_

_All may say "I will dream"_

_All may say….."_

He sang along in a low voice, absorbing himself in his work.

"_All of your struggles beneath your disguise_

_Drink from the reasons that hold you alive_

_Til we're safe from the wounds of desire and pain_

_You must rise from the mounds of desire and change_

_Too late to discover peace of mind_

_Too late to recover me…."_

His words faded into a frustrated humming as he furiously sketched at the page, oblivious to the eyes that watched him through his window.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Gerard's hand froze and he cocked his head.

_Knock. Knock._

He turned in the direction of the tapping and his heart nearly stopped. Peering through his small window, was a pair of bright blue-green eyes rimmed with smudgy, black liner.

Her plump red lips mouthed the words, "Fuck you, Bitch." Before grinning widely and motioning for him to unlock the window.

Hastily Gerard jumped out of his chair, nearly spilling his lukewarm coffee and stumbling over various objects on the floor. He unlatched the window and watched in utter shock as Barbara shimmied her long, thin frame through the opening and dropped onto his floor.

"About time." She laughed a little, "It's cold as hell out there."

Gerard stood several feet from her, watching warily as she rubbed her arms and glanced around. "Nice cave you've got here." She remarked huskily, "Very cool."

"Barbara," He finally blurted out as he watched her stroll about his room, "What the fuck are you doing here?"

She laughed, "Did I interrupt you?" She hovered over his desk, shuffling through the many comics sprawled about.

"Errr, no." He mumbled snatching the drawings up and shoving them in the drawer.

She pouted, "I wanted to look at those."

"I don't feel comfortable with people seeing my art until it's finished." He admitted lamely and then turned a questioning eye on her, "You still didn't tell me why you're here, not that I mind at all."

She shrugged, flopping down onto his bed, "Me and Jim got in a huge fight. He tried to come over to my house, so I left. Didn't really wanna see him, ya know?" She answered in a bored voice, rolling over and beginning to inspect the cd collection on the night stand.

"Oh, well that blows." Gerard replied, awkwardly standing by the bed. "Won't he kill you if he knows you're here?"

Barbara flashed her eyes in his direction and grinned mischievously, "Only if he finds me."

She patted her hand on the space next to her, motioning for Gerard to sit down. He lowered himself stiffly onto the bed, his heart pounding in his throat.

He swallowed, "Why here?"

"Hmm?" She was still preoccupied with the records.

"What made you come here?"

"Well, 'here' is the only place he wouldn't think to look." She turned to look at him, "Plus, you're a pretty cool kid."

He felt his face grow hot and immediately turned away, "Thanks….. You're pretty cool too. " He then added, "And I am not a kid!"

"You're younger than me." She stated matter-of-factly, blowing a bubble with her gum.

Gerard tilted his chin and narrowed his eyes, "How old are you?"

She laughed quietly, "Sweetie, I'll be twenty in June." She informed him, rolling her eyes. "I may have been held back once or twice."

"Oh." He sniffed, squaring his eighteen year old shoulders. "Age is just a number anyway, right?"

"Right." Barbara giggled slightly.

"I guess I'll just crash here for a few hours and sneak back home tonight." She sighed, "You know, if that's okay?"

"Uh, yeah!" Gerard exclaimed quickly, "Do you want any food or anything?"

She thought for a moment. "You could make me a cup of coffee." She said with a wink.

* * *

Gerard hurried upstairs, and began crashing around the kitchen. Mikey stepped into the doorway and watched with a puzzled expression as his brother flung items from the shelves and banged drawers shut.

"Where's the fucking coffee?" Gerard asked, turning to his brother.

"I just used the last of it, I think." Mikey admitted sheepishly.

Gerard gasped a slapped his little brother in the back of the head. "Dumbfuck!"

"What?" Mikey yelled, deeply confused and rubbing the back of his head.

"The girl I'm in love with is downstairs and she wants coffee!"

Gerard hurriedly grabbed his coat off the hook, "I gotta go get some!"

"Hey, Gee?" Mikey called as he opened a cabinet.

"Keep her busy!" Gerard commanded, running around the living room in search of his shoes.

"Gee-"

"Entertain her. Make sure she doesn't get bored and leave." He was fishing a shoe from under the couch.

"Um…"

"But for the love of God, Mikes, don't creep her out." He jammed his foot into his shoe.

"GERARD!" Mikey screamed.

"_WHAAAATT?"_

"I found more coffee." Mikey said flatly, tossing the can to Gerard and shuffling back to his bedroom.

"Oh." The older boy grunted and moved back into the kitchen to brew the coffee.

"You're a pussy!" He heard Mikey call to him before the door slammed and the muffled sound of heavy metal surged from his brother's room.

* * *

He delivered the coffee to the smiling girl sitting, cross legged on his bed. She thanked him and the two of them lay there talking for hours about a lot of nothingness. The very nothingness that meant everything to them. Music: The bands that rocked and the ones that sucked. She enlightened Gerard on quite a few bands he had never even heard of, promising to bring him a few CDs to listen to. Comics: Whether or not Marvel was overrated. Barbara criticized the company for being too mainstream, but he held onto his firm belief in the X-Men. They both agreed that Doom Patrol was pretty rad. Movies: They were both way into horror flicks which led into a deep discussion about the slasher genre.

They laid side by side, Gerard feeling much more comfortable now, as he stared into her beautiful eyes. They were kind, but held an unmistakably bitter coolness in them; he couldn't help but think that they reminded him of two little pools of arctic water. He loved the way she raised just one brow when something amused her, and the seductive way she ran her tongue across her teeth when she was deep in thought. Her long, coppery hair was splayed across the bed, framing her pale face.

She was everything that he had hoped she would be, and more.

How had he ended up with such an amazing girl in his bed?

_An amazing girl with a boyfriend. _ He had to remind himself.

He had such a strong urge to kiss her that it was painful to control himself.

She stayed there until around 10 o'clock, when she sighed and sat up stretching. Gerard watched again as she moaned slightly, lengthening her arms over her head. His whole body tingled with lust.

"Well, I guess I should head home now." She sighed, standing up.

His heart ached to even think of her leaving him, but he nodded. "Yeah, it's late. I'll walk you out." He glanced across the room, "Unless you'd prefer to crawl through the window again?"

She chuckled, "Just walk me to the damn door."

He led her up the stairs, noting how desirably close to him she was walking. He sighed internally. When they reached the door, he held it open for a moment.

"It was cool having you over…" He began, shoving the slick black hair from his face, "If you and your guy happen to get in another fight, you're always welcome to crash here again."

She grinned hooking her arms around him in what felt like a slightly more-than-friendly hug. As he awkwardly wound his arms around her, she whispered, "What if we don't get in another fight and I just wanna hang?"

Gerard swallowed nervously, "Well I suppose that would be okay too." He gave her a lopsided smile, revealing his small, straight teeth.

"Good." She chirped, releasing him slowly, and turned to walk out.

"Ummm." Gerard stopped her, "Should I walk you home? It's dangerous when it's dark out."

She gave one quick laugh, "Ha! Honey, don't worry about me. I've had enough experience with these streets."

She made her way down the steps and paused halfway down the side walk. She turned back to him and blew a kiss, "Seeya soon, Kid."

* * *

**A/N: There you go. Sort of a filler chapter, but it has alot of important to semi-relevent information in it. Also, I thought it kinda helped to build up Gerard and Barbara's relationship and get a little sexual tension going. Sorry for so much seemingly pointless dialogue, I promise action will come very soon! So that's it. Hope you like it. If you read this, please review, don't be scared to criticize if necessary. I take it constructively. Peace out.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Barbara POV:**

She paced angrily back and forth within her tiny bathroom. Having taken a few of the pills hidden in her underwear drawer and with a half-full bottle of cheap vodka in hand, the room was beginning to hazily tilt beneath her feet. She leaned heavily on the sink and stared into the mirror. The girl reflected back at her was a scary sight. Her lip was swollen and split down the middle and the tender area beneath her right eye was already turning a sickening purple. She knew there would be a nasty bruise on her ribs too. The bruises from last time had just started healing….

* * *

Barbara strolled down the side walk, a slight smile playing across her lips. Gerard was an awesome guy, and totally cute too. There was something about his messy black hair and ghostly complexion that actually turned her on. Also, she couldn't help but finding his initial insecurity adorable. She was vaguely wondering why she had never talked to him before now, when she saw the boy sitting on her front steps. Oh, that's why. Jim.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath.

"Where the hell have you been?" The tall, muscular boy shouted as he stood.

"None of your damn business." Barbara huffed. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you, Jim. So get off my doorstep and go home!"

Jim bowed his chest up in anger, and stepped closer to her. "Don't you dare talk to me like that! Tell me where you were!"

Barbara glared at him silently and made an effort to sidestep him, but he grabbed her by her coat and shoved her hard. She stumbled sideways and fell down, grunting as her body connected with the concrete.

"You were out whoring around, I'll bet!" He growled furiously, "Who were you with, Whore? Who have you been fucking behind my back?"

"No one!" She yelled, only to receive a swift kick in the side. She doubled over and gasped, clutching at her ribcage. "Fuck you, Jim! I've had enough of this bullshit!" She groaned through clenched teeth.

She didn't see the fury flash in the boy's eyes, or the veins bulging in the sides of his neck. She only felt the sharp pain that shot through her as his fist connected with her face. Once. Twice. Then his rough fingers were entwined in her hair and he violently jerked her head around to look into her eyes. Reluctant tears were streaming down her face, but she set her jaw as menacingly as she could.

"Last chance to tell me where you were." He hissed, his face an inch from her own. She could smell the liquor on his breath and she knew this wasn't a fight she would win.

"I was pissed so I went for a long walk." She lied.

He thought this over for a long moment, as if determining whether it was a sufficient answer. Finally, he reared back and slapped her hard. She cried out slightly, her cheek stinging and the rest of her face aching terribly.

"That's for running off somewhere without me knowing." He informed her as if it was a just punishment for her misbehavior. He rose over her and spit in disgust before turning and stalking back down the street.

She lay there for a few moments, attempting to catch her breath, then slowly hoisted herself off the ground. She staggered up the stairs and fumbled with the lock on the door. She squinted into the dark kitchen, and felt for the light switch. It was eerily quiet within the house, as usual. She made sure to bolt the door securely, just in case. A small note was stuck to the refrigerator. Wiping the blood from her lip, she pulled off the slip of paper and read it.

_Barbara,_

_ I'm out with Bill again. Won't be home until very late. If you're not home when I get back I'll ground you, or something. There's leftovers in the fridge or you can order take-out. Wash the dishes and take out the trash, please. I also forgot to do your laundry. Sorry. See you tomorrow._

_ Love,_

_ Mom_

Barbara rolled her eyes, crumpling the paper in her hand and flung it to the floor. Typical. Her mother was always with Bill, her sleezy good-for-nothing boyfriend, whom Barbara absolutely despised. She had never been much of a mother, but since she had met Bill she had become more and more of a pitiful excuse. At least she wouldn't have to explain the cuts on her face for a while. However, she hated being left to deal with these situations alone. She was hurt and scared.

Barbara stormed up the stairs to her room, her mind swimming with dark, hateful thoughts. She immediately reached under her bed and fished out her savior. Alcohol. When combined with strong pain killers and loud, angry music, it was the perfect remedy for nights like this.

* * *

She turned the bottle up and felt the clear, bitter liquid burn its way down her throat. The world was quickly fading into one big blur of color, the way she preferred it to be. She steeled herself, then lifted the bottle back to her lips and chugged the remains, her head felt like it was on fire. Jim's face appeared in her mind again.

"AHHHHHHH!" She shrieked, and angrily swung the empty bottle. It crashed against the shower, spraying shards of broken glass all over the floor. Her head was reeling and she slumped against the wall, slowly sinking to her knees. Slivers of the broken bottle crunched beneath her weight, but she was too numb now to feel them embedding themselves in her skin. She leaned against the toilet as the world around her spun at a dizzying pace. The last thing she saw before her unfocused eyes rolled back into her head, was the deep crimson blur that was spreading around her on the tile floor.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. It's finals week at school so I'm super busy with exams. But luckily I only have exactly 6 days of school left and then I'll be free to write as much as I please. Which will probably be alot. Hope you guys still enjoy this chapter (even though it's kinda dark). Later. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Ahhhh I'm officially done with my first year of college! Hopefully now I'll have much more time to write! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own My Chem... Maybe one day though (Wishful Thinking :])**

* * *

"Dude, get your feet off the fucking coffee table. " Gerard muttered the next morning, entering into the darkened den, "If mom wakes up and sees that she'll go all anal."

The short guy lounging on the couch made a displeased noise as he flopped his bare feet onto the floor. He had shiny black hair that was closely cropped on one side of his head, but fell heavily over his eye on the other side. His nose and lip were both pierced and his nails were coated in flaking black paint.

"Frank Anthony Iero! You get your feet off my coffee table right this minute, and stop acting like a hoodlum!" Mikey's voice screeched at a high, mocking octave, an almost disturbingly good impression of their mother. "And take those piercings out when you're in my house. You look like a delinquent!"

"Fuck you, man." Frank laughed, hurling a couch pillow at Mikey's head.

Frank was one of Gerard and Mikey's best (and only) friends. He was a sophomore, the same grade as Gerard's younger brother. He didn't attend Belleville High School anymore, however, his parents had sent him to Queen of Peace Catholic School this year in hopes of molding him into the 'normal' son they had always wanted. Frank had responded to this by getting the piercing in his nose and a tattoo of a creepy Halloween pumpkin on his back, completely shattering their hopes of reforming him.

"So how's Pencey Prep coming, man?" Gerard asked, in reference to his friend's band, as he lazily flipped through channels on the TV.

Frank huffed and slouched farther into the couch, stuffing Cheetos into his mouth. "Not so great." He grumbled, "We keep hitting all these snags. Kinda feels like we're not going anywhere. I mean, we've managed to hook one gig this month."

"Bummer." Gerard replied, "I really like the shit you guys play."

"Me too, man." Frank sighed, wiping his cheesy fingers on his jeans. "We've got great music, but we need to find a new singer."

"Why?" Mikey looked up from his comic book, smiling deviously, "Finally realized you suck, Frank?"

Frank rolled his eyes, flinging a Cheeto at Mikey's face before he had time to react.

"Stop throwing things at me!" The boy whined, removing his glasses and cleaning the smear of cheesy powder off the lens.

"It's just that I'm more into my guitar than the singing." Frank explained, flopping onto his stomach onto the couch and wiggling around for several seconds trying to get comfortable, "I just feel like I can't put all my energy into my music when I have to sing."

Gerard raised a brow, but his eyes remained glued to the television screen, "Heaven knows you have enough of that to put on a show by yourself."

It was true. Both Way brothers had experienced Frank's jam sessions on several occasions. He was a kid with immense talent and an unfathomable amount of energy that, when combined, resulted in sick tunes and a little black-haired ball of fire flinging himself around the room and rolling about on the floor. He was notorious for kicking and slamming into objects, needless to say, things got broken often.

"Exactly, Dude!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation, "Which is why I need a new frontman." He thought for a moment. "Hell, I need a whole new band all together. Everyone's so stressed that we're falling apart anyway."

"You should let Gee sing for you." Mikey suggested, still nose-deep in his comic.

"Hell no." Gerard scoffed, "I don't sing."

"You were in a musical." His brother retorted without looking up.

The oldest boy narrowed his eyes, "I was a child."

Frank was always entertained when the two brothers fought, he silently hoped some violence would break out soon as his eyes flicked between the two, an excited grin stretching across his face.

"You still always wanted to be in a musical." Mikey reminded him slowly, "That's kinda gay."

"You're obsessed with unicorns!" Gerard exploded, "Like, what the fuck, Mikes?"

Mikey's mouth clenched tightly as he threw his comic book down and stood up, fiercely shoving his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"Unicorns are beautiful and majestic creatures." He said evenly, with as much dignity as he could muster, and then turned and stalked out of the room.

There was never a dull day in the Way household.

Gerard sighed and leaned back in the chair, rubbing his forehead wearily. He seriously needed to sleep more, but he'd had a terrible case of insomnia lately. Mostly things such as his artwork or the typical teenage angst kept him awake at night. Last night, however, his mind had been swimming with thoughts of Barbara. He still could barely believe that she had truly shown up in his bedroom yesterday. That had happened countless times in his dreams but he had never imagined it would happen in reality. When he got into bed, he had still been able to smell the musky sweet smell of her perfume. He had even found one long stray hair on his blanket; he had briefly contemplated keeping it as proof, but decided that would be too creepy and brushed it onto the floor. He would give anything to have her come back….

"Don't you think, Dude?" Frank broke into his thoughts.

Gerard snapped to attention, shaking his head slightly. "Errr what?"

Frank rolled his eyes and made a dramatic show of exasperation, throwing his head back and flinging his arm over his face. "You never listen to meeeee." He whined, in the most diva-like voice he could manage. "I talk and talk and it just goes in one ear and out the other. All I ask for in this relationship is a little respect!"

"Would you grow the fuck up?" Gerard launched the television remote at Frank's face so fast that he nearly didn't have time to duck out of the way.

This sent Frank into a fit of giggles before he finally repeated his words from earlier. "I was saying, I know that you claim to not be into the whole 'rockband scene', with your art and all. BUT if you and me actually started a band together that would be totally rad, Man."

"Oh." Gerard said, "I guess it would be fun to fuck around with, but you've got bigger plans, Frank. You're gonna do big things with your music someday, Dude, and I'm not much of a performer. You don't want me holding you back."

"I don't think I could feel anymore restricted than I do now." Frank grumbled. "What am I gonna do without a band?"

"Why don't you audition for one of the garage bands around the neighborhood? I heard the Lovely Masochists are looking for a guitarist. They're pretty decent too."

Frank sighed, "I might. Seriously though, Man, just think about it. Even if we just fucked around with the idea, sometimes that can take you big places."

"Yeah. Yeah. I'll think it over. Maybe after graduation."

"Sweet!" Frank grinned, jumping up from the couch. "Now, go make me a grilled cheese while I go take a shit."

Gerard shot a finger toward the front door, "Leave my house."

Frank narrowed his eyes and pouted, "Grumpy ass vampire."

"Go."


	6. Chapter 6

Later that afternoon, Gerard grumbled to himself as he stalked up and down the aisles of the local pharmacy. His mom had sent him to pick up some more of Mikey's damn nasal spray. He paused briefly when he passed the condom aisle, looking around nervously before ducking behind the shelves and picking up a box. He turned it over in his hands, he had never had much of a reason to buy them before, but maybe he would get lucky the next time Barbara showed up in his room unannounced… No. What was he thinking? Barbara looked at him as a friend, nothing more. He didn't stand a chance to be with a girl like her.

A familiar voice suddenly caught his attention. He looked up to see Barbara in the aisle across from him, she was talking with another girl. Suddenly, she caught sight of Gerard and smiled. _Shit. _He thought, spastically flinging the box of condoms back onto the shelf, only to succeed in knocking ten other boxes to the floor. He put his arms out, trying to shove them all back into place, but they clattered to the ground at his feet. There was nothing left to do but make a run for it. Kicking several contraceptive boxes out of the way, he darted from the aisle.

"Hey, Kid! Where ya going?" Barbara laughed, as she sauntered over to him. "You're just too smooth." She said sarcastically, her eyes darting to the very pissed off employee who was now restocking the condom packages onto the shelf.

Gerard's face twisted into an embarrassed grin as he scratched the back off his head nervously. "Ummmm, I'm just here for nasal spray." He explained weakly, holding up the bottle of decongestant.

"I see." She nodded, "Nothing like a little sinus relief and some protective rubbers to get your day going."

He was mortified. He had to turn this conversation around. "Well, what's up with the sunglasses indoors? Trying to start a trend?"

Her hand flew up protectively to the glasses that covered her eyes. " Hungover as hell." She shrugged cooly.

Just then, an older woman with a basket full of vitamins and ointments, shuffled by. She accidentally bumped into Barbara and her basket spilled onto the ground. Barbara knelt down to pick up the old woman's groceries. They lady thanked her graciously and waddled away. As Barbara stood up, her glasses shifted on her face and she somehow managed to knock them off as she tried to reposition them.

"Holy shit!" Gerard exclaimed. "Barbara, what happened to your face?"

Her right eye was ringed with a nasty purple and yellow bruise, and he just now noticed how swollen her bottom lip was.

She didn't even falter as she smiled mischievously, "Hit up a party last night after I left your place. Some bitch tried to start shit and we got into it."

"You got into a fight?" Gerard asked worriedly. "You look like hell."

Barbara ran her tongue seductively over her teeth, "You should see the other chick."

She grinned broadly. She was a pro at lying. Ever since she was a small child, she had been able to whip out fibs at the drop of a hat. She could spin the most elaborate and realistic lie, without the slightest hesitation and had an uncanny knack for keeping her stories straight. Even the many occasions her mother had caught her sneaking into the house (completely stoned) at 4am, she had managed to sober up and give such a believable explanation that her mother was left with nothing to accuse her of. She did it so naturally that most of the time she even convinced herself that her stories were true. She did slightly regret lying to Gerard though. He was just so sweet and genuine, she knew he would never keep anything from her, but this was something that no one could ever know about. No one but her bestfriend.

"Oh." Barbara smacked her forehead in a ditzy manner, desperate to change the subject. "Gerard, this is my bestfriend, Alicia."

Gerard's eyes darted from her, to the girl standing behind her. How long had she been standing there?

Alicia was a tiny girl with pale skin and short, choppy black hair that was styled to sleekly curve under her chin. Her bangs swooped heavily to the right and an army green beanie was pulled over her head. Her gray eyes were carefully smeared with black eye shadow that winged out on the sides, giving her a cat-like appearance. A small silver hoop was hooked through one of her nostrils and she wore dark maroon lipstick. Her face was sharp and angular, but not unattractive. A bulky denim jacket was draped over her small frame, contrasting with her very tight black pants. Gerard couldn't help thinking that she and Frank would make a perfect couple.

"Nice to meet you." He offered her a friendly handshake which she ignored stiffly.

"Or not…" He muttered to himself, "Well I'd better head home before Mikey dies from an allergy attack or something." He lamely waved around his bottle of nose spray before turning toward the check-out counter.

"Wait!" Barbara grabbed his arm. "Alicia's parents are out of town so we're throwing a party tonight. You should totally come. It's gonna be pretty sick."

Gerard hesitated, he had a sneaking feeling that he wouldn't exactly be welcomed there. It may have been the 'go die in a hole' look that Alicia was shooting his way, but he could've been wrong.

"Are you sure that would be okay…." He asked.

"Yeah! And Jim is going out with some of his buds tonight, so don't worry about him." Barbara exclaimed, nudging her friend. "So it's totally cool. Right, Lish?"

"Whatever." Alicia groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Sweet!" Barbara snatched a pen from the counter and began scribbling an address onto Gerard's hand. "Drop in around ten o'clock. Bring some booze if you can get your hands on any, but I'm sure we'll have plenty of it. If you don't want to come alone you can bring your brother, I'm sure he'll fit right in, but you _have _to be there." She shot him the most sexual glance from under her lashes, "Don't let me down, I'll be waiting."

* * *

Gerard burst into Mikey's room, flicking on the light and tossing the nose spray onto the bed that Mikey was laying in. The scrawny figure made a few disgruntled noises and jerked the blanket over his head, exposing his skinny white legs.

"Mikes! Wake the fuck up! We're going to a party!" He hissed, not wanting their mother to overhear him.

"No thanks." Mikey mumbled into the pillow, "I don't want cake."

"Not _that _kind of party, Dumbfuck!" Gerard sighed, snatching the covers off of his brother. "A real party. With chicks and alcohol and loud music."

This caught the younger boy's attention. "_We _got invited to a house party?"

Gerard nodded excitedly.

Mikey jumped up, "How in the fuck did that happen?"

The older brother shrugged, "I ran into Barbara at the pharmacy and she invited me to her friend's party tonight."

Mikey balled his fists up and sank to his knees in nerdy triumph. "Yessss! We finally have social connections!"

Gerard huffed impatiently, "Don't make me regret bringing you with me."

Mikey snapped up, his hand flying into a saluting position, "Aye aye, sir. Embarrass thee, I shall not."

Waving his hand dismissively, Gerard turned to walk out of the room. "We're leaving at 10. Make sure you look presentable. I have to go find some beer."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Special thanks to Alicia of the Temptation for the review! It's great to finally get feedback! It keeps me motivated and lets me know there's people out there who actually want me to keep writing!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own anything but my OCs unfortunately. Boo. :(**

* * *

The two way brothers walked side by side down the street on their way to Alicia's house. Both wore jeans and their newest band tees, and had freshly washed and combed their usually unkempt hair. Mikey had insisted upon wearing a leather jacket that comically contrasted with the round glasses settled on the end of his nose. He claimed that it made him feel "cool and dangerous". In a last minute decision, Gerard had thrown a red sweater on over his Nirvana tee, fervently hoping that it made him come across as more sophisticated…. He had never had a keen eye for 'style'.

Mikey looked around nervously as they walked. A case of beer was clutched in Gerard's hand.

"Would you at least _try _to act cool?" Gerard muttered frustratedly, nudging his brother with his elbow.

"Dude, if we get caught with that we are in _so_ much trouble." Mikey squeaked.

"Relax. We're almost there." Gerard assured him, but he was secretly nervous too. He had gone to a convenience store that he knew didn't check ID's and bought a cheap case of beer, an act that was nearly foreign to him. Of course, he had bought alcohol there before, once or twice. Actually, that was a lie. Frank always bought it for them. But Frank was younger than Gerard and certainly much shorter, so Gerard had figured that if the ADHD munchkin from hell could illegally buy alcohol, then so could he. The man behind the counter was a greasy, unpleasant fellow who was much more interested in making an extra ten bucks, than he was in legalities. It was rumored that he had even sold a couple of ten year old girls some wine coolers without even asking questions. However, Gerard had managed to act so suspicious that the man had nearly run him out of the store before he could even make his purchase. Now, as they approached the doorstep to Alicia's tiny duplex, Gerard had to re-grip the case that was slowly slipping from his sweaty palms.

Loud music was pumping from inside and there was lots of laughing and friendly shouting. Gerard inhaled deeply, then pounded on the door. Nothing. He waited a few moments, then pounded again. This time the door swung open and Gerard looked down to see Alicia laughing pleasantly, a red plastic cup in one hand. She turned and made eye contact with Gerard; suddenly her face dropped into a scowl and she glared at him for a minute before slamming the door in his face. Puzzled, Gerard struggled with whether to knock again or walk away, but the door suddenly opened again. It wasn't Alicia, but Barbara, clad in a purple low-cut halter top, a very short silver skirt, and black knee-length boots with heels that lifted her to be exactly eye level with Gerard. Black tights covered her legs.

"Well it's about time you got here!" She exclaimed, throwing an arm around Gerard's shoulder and pulling him into a tight hug. She had done a spectacular job on her makeup. She had caked concealer on under her eyes and coated her lids with a deep purple eye shadow, making her bruises almost completely invisible. A dark, pouty lipstick camouflaged the gash on her mouth.

"And you're Mikey!" She pulled the younger brother into a hug as well, causing him to blush. "We haven't officially met."

"Come in, Guys!" She shouted over the music. "Sorry about Alicia. She can be a bitch, but you've just got to get to know her." She laughed, then turned toward the people crowded into the den and yelled. "Guys! This is Gerard and Mikey Way, and they're fucking AWESOME! So be cool to them or I'll kick your asses!"

There were about fifteen or twenty teens collaborated in the small den; they waved and gave a small cheer before returning to their previous activities. Most of them were thrashing around excitedly to the music, a few were in the middle of some very intense drinking game, and then the more laid back guests were lounged on the couch just bobbing their heads to the beat. There was a nice mix of grunge, goth, and skater in the atmosphere, and Gerard felt very much like he belonged.

"This way!" Barbara suddenly ushered them into the kitchen where the narrow counter was cluttered with assorted liquors.

She motioned for Gerard to add the beer to the small stockpile of intoxicating goodness, then thrust a cup into his hand.

"Punch?" She grinned, offering Mikey a cup also.

"Thanks." Gerard smiled, realizing that this was the first time he had spoken since he got there, he quickly added. "It was really cool of you to invite us. Right, mikes?"

"Very cool." Mikey agreed, a little over-enthusiastically.

"Not a problem. I'm glad you came." She said over her shoulder while fixing herself another drink.

Gerard took the first gulp of his punch and choked a little. Grimacing he croaked, "What's in this?"

Barbara let out a lofty laugh, "A better question would be 'what's not in it?' It's my specialty."

She suddenly whirled around, eyeing him playfully, "What's wrong? Is it too strong?" She asked in mock concern, then grinned wickedly. "Don't tell me you're a wuss, Kid."

Gerard Way was not a wuss. Gerard Way was far from being a wuss. Sort of. He just wasn't used to drinking hard liquors. Usually, when he drank with Mikey and Frank, they just bought a twelve pack of beer, or a few bottles of Mike's hard lemonade if they were feeling adventurous. Frank was the only one who would drink anything very strong. But, when the woman you are in love with calls you a wuss; it doesn't matter how strong the drink is, you chug that shit like a champion.

So, in response, Gerard rolled his eyes and turned up his large cup of punch, and finished it in three giant gulps. He slammed the cup down on the counter, eyes watering and trying to suppress his gags. He already could feel a slight tingling sensation in his head. He could hear Mikey behind him, attempting to choke his own drink down. A dangerously enthusiastic expression crossed Barbara's face as she watched.

"I think it's time for…..SHOTS!" She yelled out into the den, like she were announcing the most exciting event on earth.

Within seconds, the kitchen was packed with sweaty half-drunk kids who all smelled of cigarettes, alcohol, and weed. The next think Gerard knew, he was being handed a three small paper cups filled with tequila.

Alicia appeared, and set two dice on the kitchen table. "This game is called 'Pass the Shot'" she announced very formally, climbing to stand upon a chair. "We need, like, 4 to 6 people. Who wants to play the first round?"

Several hands shot up and, before he could even comprehend what happened, Barbara had grabbed Gerard's arm and jerked it into the air.

Alicia made a show of carefully selecting the players and finally announced for them to gather around the table, then snapping viciously for everyone else to 'back the fuck up'. Gerard looked at Barbara who was standing across the table from him. She smiled and winked, "It's fun." She assured him quietly.

Alicia cleared her throat and continued from on top of the chair, "This is a game of both speed and luck, specifically designed to get you wasted off your ass!" A lot of excited whooping interrupted her. "Basically, each one of you has three shots in front of you and will take turns rolling the dice. If a 1,2, or 3 is rolled you will pass your shot to the person on your left. If a 4,5, or 6 is rolled you don't do anything. Rolling a 7,8, or 9 means you have to take one of your own shots and a 10, 11, or 12 means you pass one of your shots to the right. If you get passed a shot you have to take it immediately, then it's your turn to roll. Whoever gets rid of all their shots first wins the game."

Gerard was handed the dice first and shook them around inside his fist for a few long moments before finally throwing them onto the table. Seven. He inwardly sighed as he lifted his own 'shot glass' to his lips, this was going to be a long night….

* * *

After about his fifth shot, Gerard stopped gagging. His head was starting to spin, and a goofy smile stretched across his face. He had won the first game (by some cruel coincidence, being forced to drink all of his own shots) and they were well into the second game. The girl on Barbara's right hastily handed her one of the tiny cups and, just before she swallowed it, Barbara gave Gerard a very meaningful wink. Every part of his body felt lazy and detached, but he was suddenly well aware of the tightening sensation in his pants. He gave her a look that he hoped was as alluring as he imagined it would be, and slid his last shot to the guy next to him.

"Okay that's enough!" Barbara laughed, and came around the table to take Gerard by the arm. "Winning both games? That was pretty impressive. I didn't know you would turn out to be a pro." She marveled as she led him back into the den. Several of the guests had become bored with watching the game and were now lazily passing a joint around on the oversized couch.

"Yep." Gerard agreed, nodding his head in an exaggerated manner, "Yep. I can be pretty impressive sometimes. So much so, that I even impress myself on occasions."

"Well you certainly impressed me." Barbara purred, leaning into him and almost causing them both to fall over. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder as she began to sway back and forth to the music that was still playing.

"I've been trying to do that for a long time." He muttered into her hair, winding his arms tightly around her.

"Dance with me." She whispered.

Gerard picked his head up in an attempt to survey their surroundings. "No one else is dancing." He slurred.

"I don't care." She exclaimed quietly and began rocking her hips back and forth more vigorously.

Gerard rested his forehead on hers and gazed into her blurry eyes. "But I don't know how…"

Her mouth slowly lifted to hover just inches away from his. "Let me teach you." She breathed.

_This is it. _Gerard realized foggily. _This is really it. We're about to kiss. _All his dreams from the past four years were about to come true in this one blissfully hazy moment. He couldn't believe it. It was too good to be true. He lowered his lips toward hers.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN HERE?" A furious voice boomed from behind them.

Gerard clumsily whirled around to see Jim standing in the doorway of the duplex. He looked pissed.


	8. Chapter 8

"Get your fucking hands off of my girlfriend, Pussy!" Jim growled and lunged for Gerard. "I'll beat your motherfucking ass!"

Before Gerard's brain could process what was happening, he was sprawled on the ground clutching his face in pain. Jim had knocked Barbara out of the way and thrust his fist directly into Gerard's nose.

"Jim!" Barbara screamed angrily, putting herself between her boyfriend and the injured boy on the floor. "Jim, stop it! Don't be an ass!"

"You!" Jim hissed, venom seeming to drip from his voice. "Shut your mouth, Whore!" He shot a hand out and struck Barbara sharply across the cheek. His attention was diverted from Gerard's writhing form for just a moment. "I _knew _you've been fucking around behind my back! When I heard about this party I was sure I couldn't trust you! You just proved you're nothing more than a dirty slut!" Jim yelled at her irately.

They had acquired a small audience of stunned, wide-eyed party goers huddled about anxiously. They had seen everything, yet no one made a move to intervene.

Gerard groaned pitifully as he tried to stand up. Jim spun around and kicked him swiftly in his soft gut, causing the poor boy to crumple back onto the ground. In response, Barbara reared back and punched Jim hard in the back of the head.

It was like something inside of him snapped. Instantly, he went from furiously jealous boyfriend to rabidly psychotic animal. He let out an inhuman sound growl and shoved Barbara so violently that she toppled into the television set and crashed onto the wood floor. He grabbed her by the hair and viciously slammed her head into the ground. He pulled a fist back, preparing to beat her to a pulp when a strong hand grabbed the collar of his coat and jerked him away from her. He turned to see a big, burly man with arms nearly as big around as Jim's whole body.

"Everyone get the hell out of here now! I just called the cops and they're on the way!" He bellowed, in a voice that no one would dare argue with. As all the guests quickly scampered out the door, the man glared at Jim. "As for _you_, you'd better get your pathetic ass out of my sight NOW. And I'd better never catch you around here again! You think you're tough because you pick on smaller guys and beat up girls? If I ever see you again you'll be lucky if you can still walk, Maggot!" He spit at Jim in disgust, before crashing his elbow into the boy's teeth and thrusting him down the steps and onto the sidewalk. He slammed the door which muffled Jim's enraged howling.

Mikey had appeared and, after helping Gerard sit up, was now holding a wad of tissues to his brother's bloody nose. Alicia had her arms wrapped protectively around Barbara as she smoothed the girl's hair out of her face and examined the large gash on her friend's forehead.

"Thank you, Steve." The tiny black-haired girl said to the man.

"Not a problem, Pixie." He nodded gruffly, calling her by the nickname he had given to her. "That's what neighbors are for. Are you two alright?" He turned his attention to the bruised and bloodied teens. "Anyone need to go to the hospital?"

"I think Gee will be okay." Mikey answered timidly. "But, what about the cops?"

Steve chuckled, "I didn't really call the cops. I actually came over to crash the party, but looks like I got here right in time. That low-life piece of scum woman beater…." He grumbled angrily in reference to Jim.

"There's plenty of alcohol in the kitchen." Barbara croaked, "And some pot too. Help yourself."

"Thank ya. You take care of yourself, little lady." The big man saluted and disappeared from the room.

"Coolest neighbor ever." Barbara sighed. Her head was pounding and her whole body ached horribly. She was also burning inside from embarrassment. How dare he come into _her_ friend's party and pull that shit in front of _her_ friends. When they were alone it was different, at least she could pretend she walked away from the beating with some dignity, but now that there were witnesses she would never live this down.

"You sure you don't need to go to the hospital?" Alicia broke into her thoughts. "You might have a concussion."

"I'm fine." Barbara huffed, shoving her friend out of the way as forcefully as she could manage, and hauling herself to her feet.

"I've been telling you to leave that bastard for months, Barbara!" Alicia snapped. "When are you going to listen to me? When you end up dead?"

Gerard was trying to pull himself out of the groggy haze he was still trapped in. He groaned feebly as Mikey continued to apply pressure to his nostrils.

"I'm a big girl, Lish." Barbara said evenly as she inspected her busted forehead in the hall mirror. "You need to stop worrying about me. I can handle myself."

"Yeah. You sure handled things pretty well tonight." Alicia scoffed. "If Steve hadn't shown up you probably _would_ be in the hospital right now."

"I need a drink." Barbara exclaimed and disappeared into the kitchen to join Steve.

"Is she alright?" Mikey asked nervously, once Barbara was gone.

"She likes to pretend she is." Alicia muttered frustratedly, as she busily began cleaning up trash. "In her world, it's perfectly acceptable to be used as a human punching bag."

Gerard finally managed to utter words that made sense, "That son of a bitch. I'll rip him to shreds."

Alicia burst into half-hearted laughter. "You guys want me to drive you home?"

"Are you okay to drive?" Mikey asked suspiciously.

"Yeah." She nodded, slinging on her coat and grabbing her keys. "Let's get your brother out of here. I think it's about time he hit the sack."

The Way brother's first ever wild night began at 10:00pm and ended at 12:17am when Alicia dropped them off in front of their house.

"Put his drunk ass to bed." She directed Mikey as the scrawny boy struggled to half-drag his much larger brother into their house.

_I almost would've rather had cake._ Mikey Way thought wryly, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Gerard woke the next morning with a horrific pounding in his head. He slowly rolled over and crashed onto the floor.

"OWWW!" A nasally voice whimpered, and Gerard realized he had landed on top of a rather bony human being.

He opened his eyes and, after a moment of speculation, confirmed that he was in Mikey's room.

"The fuck are you doing on the floor?" Gerard exclaimed breathlessly as he tried to climb back into the bed. "And why am I in your room?"

"Well," Mikey glared at him pointedly, "After I _carried_ you into the house, I decided not to risk dragging you downstairs to your basement. So I brought you to _my _room and put you to sleep in _my _bed while I slept on the floor. Really, the only thing I should be hearing from you is a big fucking 'Thank you'. Also, if I don't get the brother-of-the-year award, I'm going to be pissed."

Gerard had tuned him out, however, as he remembered the events of the previous night. _Shit. _How had he let that worthless bastard hurt Barbara? He should have defended her. Instead, he had fallen to the floor like a wimp. He hated himself. Barbara should hate him too. He was not worthy of her, that was for sure, but he had to go find her. He needed to make sure she was alright and beg for forgiveness.

Gerard jumped up and tripped over Mikey on the way to the door.

"Owww. DAMMIT." His little brother groaned again.

"Sorry bro. I have to go see Barbara; what happened last night was fucked up and- WHAT THE HELL IS ALL OVER YOUR NECK, MICHAEL WAY?" Gerard pointed accusingly at the reddish purple splotches all over Mikey's and collarbone.

The younger brother grinned shyly, "I _may _have met a girl last night. And she might have bitten me once or twice, and I MIGHT have gotten to feel her boobies."

Gerard leaped forward and proudly gave his baby brother a high five, "Go get em, Tiger! Was she hot?"

"As hell." Mikey smiled, shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Proud of you, Bro." Gerard gave him the brotherly seal of approval with a thumbs up as he left the room.

* * *

**A/N: Problem solved. Or is it? I have a couple different options I'm playing around with in my head, so I'm not even sure exactly what's in store for Gerard and Barbara now. I officially have a summer job now so I won't be able to update quite as often as I'd like but I'll submit new chapters as often as possible! Hope ya'll enjoyed, let me know what you think! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me a few days to get this chapter up, I've been really busy with summer classes/work. But here it is! Let me know what you think!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own MCR or anything pertaining to them.**

* * *

Gerard nervously knocked on the door of Alicia's duplex. He fervently hoped that Barbara was still here.

After waiting for what seemed like ages in the chilly late winter air, the door finally opened. He could see Steve passed out on the couch inside of the darkened house. Alicia looked up at him, squinting painfully into the sunlight. She wore star wars pajama pants and a faded black t shirt. Her short hair was disheveled and she looked so small and innocent without her usual harsh black eye makeup.

Until she spoke.

"You fucking woke me up, Douche." She hissed, then let out a loud laugh. "Jim did a damn good job on you're nose though! Bet you feel like shit today."

Gerard sighed inwardly, he didn't know why this girl was such a bitch. "Is Barbara here?"

She shook her head, crossing her arms. "No. She dipped out late last night."

_Damn. _Gerard cursed silently, "Well do you know where she is? I really need to talk to her."

Alicia shrugged, "Mars? Narnia? The northpole?" She suggested sarcastically.

"Can I get a serious answer? Please, Alicia." Gerard nearly begged.

She gave the boy the most annoyed look. As if he were nothing more than a bothersome insect that she couldn't get rid of. "I would assume that she's at home, Dipshit."

"Thanks!" Gerard exclaimed, trying to conceal his agitation. He bounded down the steps, then paused and turned back to Alicia hesitantly, "Could you gie me her address?"

She rolled her eyes and gave an aggravated grunt, "Get your ass inside and I'll write it down for you."

* * *

Gerard double checked the numbers on the front of the small house to make sure that they matched the ones written on the paper in his hand. It was a narrow two story house painted a dull grey color. The paint was flaking off of the dark green shutters and wrought iron bars encased the downstairs windows. A pretty typical looking house for their neighborhood.

He stood at the bottom of the steps, staring nervously at the front door and taking deep breaths to steady himself.

_What am I going to say? _Gerard wondered desperately. _"Hey, Barbara. Sorry for being a complete chicken shit last night while you were getting the crap beat out of you by your douchebag boyfriend?" Basically that's about it, just not in those exact words of course. Should I offer to go beat Jim up? I really hope not. Fighting's not my thing. BUT if I knew I would make it out alive, I would totally love to give that motherfucker a piece of my mind. _Gerard grinned evilly as he imagined doing torturous things to the jock.

"Would you stop staring at my house like a creep?" Barbara smirked from the top of the steps. Gerard hadn't even noticed that she had opened the front door. She looked awful, the gash on her forehead brightly contrasted with her milky skin. Her face was free from makeup, so that the bruises he had seen yesterday were anything but unnoticeable, and her knees and shins were covered in large band-aids. He wondered what had happened there….

He flushed bright red with embarrassment, "Barbara, I am so sorry about last night." He stared at the ground shoving his hand through his tangled black locks.

Barbara rolled her eyes and motioned for Gerard to enter the house. Slowly he stepped into the dimly lighted kitchen and watched as Barbara turned toward the counter. "Do you want some coffee?" She offered, pouring herself a cup.

"Errr, no thanks." Gerard mumbled silently admiring the very tiny pair of boxer shorts that she was wearing.

A few seconds later Barbara handed him a cup of steaming hot coffee. "I made you some anyway. Sit down and drink it." She demanded, so Gerard eased himself into one of the chairs that surrounded the small, bistro-style table across from Barbara. He watched her warily as she stared back at him then, not all too gently, she reached across the table and caught his chin with her right hand and examined his face.

"You got fucked up, huh, Kid?" She said, turning his head left and right with her hand.

Gerard waved her away gently, "You did too, in case you haven't looked in the mirror. Barbara, that's why I came over here. I am so so sorry that happened to you. I _let_ that happen to you. I should have-"

Barbara burst into laughter, causing Gerard to abruptly clamp his mouth shut.

"_You_ are apologizing to _me _for what my asshole boyfriend did?" She chuckled.

"Well, yeah, because I could have stopped him. I should have been a man and pummeled his ass into the ground, I-"

"Gerard," Barbara sharply, but still with an air of laughter in her voice, "Shut up! You were hammered drunk, you didn't stand a chance. Plus, he caught you off guard. It isn't your fault that any of that happened, I was coming on to you and Jim happened to walk in at a very bad time. Really, he had every right to be furious with me, but it pissed me the hell of when he came after you. Stop blaming yourself for my idiot mistakes."

"Don't make excuses for him, Barbara." Gerard said, his tone had turned icy. "It doesn't matter how angry he was with you, that will _never_ make what he did okay. I'm still sorry for not beating that bastard within an inch of his life."

They sat in silent for what felt like an eternity, finally, Gerard spoke again. "Those bruises on your face…. They aren't from getting in a fight with another chick, are they? Jim did that to you."

Barbara sat in stony silence, staring out the window. _Fuck, Jim. Fuck him for being such a dumbass and letting her secret out. _She couldn't even look Gerard in the eyes, all that pity gave her a strong urge to vomit.

"What happened to your legs?" Gerard prodded.

Barbara stiffened, and slowly turned her gaze back to the boy. Her mind was swimming with blurry images from her most recent late night pity party. The half bottle of vodka, the pills, the image of her crimson blood swirling around on the tile floor…. This was one secret she refused to let out. No one else knew about her self-destructive habits, not even Alicia. Barbara would take this secret to the grave.

"I got all scraped up one night when Jim was pushing me around." She fibbed, blaming Jim seemed like the safest, most believable thing to do.

Gerard's eyes were so anguished that she couldn't stand it any longer, "Quit fucking looking at me like that!" She snapped, jumping up from the table. "People get beat up all the time, it's not that big of a deal! Anyone who thinks it's just so horrible and uncommon, is seriously just ignorant."

"Barbara," Gerard said gently, taking a step toward her, "You're in denial. Just because there a plenty of other abusive relationships out there, doesn't mean that you, or anyone else, deserves to be in one."

"So what, you're like a therapist now?" Barbara spit sarcastically, "Please, Gerard, come solve all my life problems by telling me how I feel, as if I don't know what's going on in my own head. You don't know how the fuck I feel!"

She could feel tears stinging the corner of her eyes, but she would not cry. She only cried when she was drunk and alone. Gerard certainly couldn't see her cry, not now. So, she channeled her pain into more sarcasm.

"Well don't piss yourself, Kid. I didn't mean to scare you." She smirked.

The sudden change in mood caught the wide-eyed, shaky Gerard off guard. "You don't scare me." He retorted. Although, he had concluded that, perhaps, Barbara was a bit mentally unstable. But, then again, he was a little bit off-kilter himself.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." Barbara muttered, dumping her untouched coffee into the sink.

Suddenly, she felt arms wrap around her waist. She shrugged away, "Please don't hug me right now."

Gerard, however, wasn't taking no for an answer. He grasped her shoulder's and whirled her around to face him. She couldn't hide the shocked expression on her face as she stared into his intense hazel eyes. The boy wound his arms tightly around her, pinning her against his body, and after a moment of hesitation, crushed his lips against hers.

Barbara tensed for a few seconds. This was not the timid, insecure Gerard that she had gotten to know; this was a whole other side of him. She let her hands travel up his chest and wound her arms around his neck. She breathed into him as their lips moved as one. Gerard had very nice lips, they were soft and fit perfectly together with hers; they were a bit on the slimy side, but she could deal with that. Suddenly, Gerard's mouth started moving more hungrily. He gripped her hips firmly, plunging his tongue into her mouth and kissing her so furiously that she could feel a tingling sensation of lust coursing through her entire body. She entwined her fingers in his hair, gripping it roughly as he pressed her up against the refrigerator. She could feel the bulk in his pants, grinding into her pelvis. She moaned quietly, removing her lips from his and traveling down his neck. She could feel his pulse pounding as her mouth explored his pale throat. Slowly she worked her way back up his chin and hovered less than an inch from his mouth. She could feel his sweet, ragged breath on her face. She delivered one final, soft kiss and stared into his eyes intently.

He grinned and pulled her into a tight hug. He buried his face into her hair.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that." He murmered.

"I'm glad you did." She whispered.

"And I'm glad that you and that douchebag are finally over for good."

He could feel her stiffen slightly in his arms. He waited a few moments, but silence was her only reply. He pulled back and tipped her chin up to look him in the eyes.

"You did leave him, didn't you?" He asked a little harshly.

Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

She opened her mouth to speak, hesitating to find the right words, "Gerard….. I-I can't."

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**A/N: WAH WAH WAHHHHH. I know I know, don't shoot me. I'm all about making things more difficult than necessary. But please review, and let me know what you think! **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Wow sorry this upload has taken FOREVERRRR. I'm a failure, I know. I just got so caught up with work and summer classes that I've been either busy or completely exhausted. But I know that's no excuse to not write, so here you go. Chapter 10. It takes the story in a slightly different direction for a little while so, hope you guys like it!**

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The next three weeks of Gerard's life was full of wallowing in self-pity and being pissed off at generally everyone. He remained in his 'lair', as he sometimes called his room when he was feeling angsty, for the majority of the time that he was at home. Not even Mikey saw him for more than the walk to and from school or the few minutes it took for Gerard to brew his coffee and grab a bagel.

The oldest Way boy slouched over in his desk, one hand supporting his head with fingers entangled in his greasy black hair, the other absent-mindedly toyed with a crumpled drawing. The floor and desk surrounding him was littered with discarded drawings. Nothing he drew seemed to release the pent up anguish and frustration that was bubbling within him. Not even the image of a pale boy with a knife in his back and the seductive vampire temptress that was draining the life from him. Barbara had become a monster in his eyes, following Jim around like a mindless, brain-washed puppet whilst her boyfriend sneered disgustedly each time Gerard crossed his path. As far as Gerard was concerned, she was officially dead to him. She had toyed with his feelings and made him believe he was important to her and then she had mesmerized him to the point where he made his emotions all too obvious. Damn evil vampire temptress.

She certainly wasn't the girl he had thought she was. Or maybe she had been. Before she had become one of _them._ He had thought he could escape the torment of the Populars by being with her. She was so cool and down to earth; she belonged with him. Just being with her and having her in his arms had made him feel worth something. Their short romance had deserved to be in a cinema; far too good to be true. "_Late dawns and early sunsets, just like my favorite scenes. Then holding hands and life was perfect just like up on the screen." _Tragically poetic words began to swim around in his head. He had never thought that she could be one of _them_, she was too vibrant and full of adventure. Never giving a shit about anyone else's opinion. _"And the whole time, while always giving, counting your face amongst the living." _Everyday life just wouldn't seem the same anymore, not after meeting her.

"_Up and down escalators, pennies and colder fountains. Elevators and half price sales, trapped in by all these mountains. Running away and hiding with you. I never thought they'd get me here. Not knowing you'd change from just one bite. I fought them all off just to hold you close and tight."_

Gerard glanced down. The words that had been swirling in his brain were now scrawled messily on the back of a cartoon. He read them a couple of times, really taking in how perfectly they mirrored the way he was feeling. A story was forming here. A poem? But there was a tune also. A sad, moaning tune that would definitely be stuck in his head for days. That was okay though, because it would be the perfect soundtrack for his life at the moment. He was in such despair.

"_But does anyone notice? But does anyone care? And if I had the guts to put this to your head, but would anything matter if you're already dead?"_

A tiny dry smile tugged at his lips as he continued to write. He poured his heart out into the words on the paper. His misery translated well into a depressing, hopeless love story that was clearly never meant to be. It was that night, with images of Barbara and her newly developed devotion to Jim, that Gerard Way wrote his first real song that he was really proud of.

* * *

Gerard didn't know what he was going to do with his little masterpiece, but as he silently sang it in his head, it made him feel slightly better about his life. Occasionally, Frank's comments about forming a band crossed his mind. But that was really a silly idea wasn't it? Gerard wasn't the performing type and surely Frank had already found another band to play for. Plus, the chances of a band being successful were very slim.

"Hey, Mikes?" He called to Mikey one Saturday afternoon as he fixed himself a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, Gee?" He emerged from his room, fully dressed and smelling overpoweringly of cheap cologne.

"Jesus, Mikey! I think I need a gas mask." Gerard tried to fan the smell away from his face with his hand. "Where in the fuck are you going all fixed up like that?"

"I've got…." He looked around mischievously, glasses sliding off his nose, before finishing. "A date."

Gerard raised a brow, "With who?"

"You remember those hickies on my neck?"

"Oh." The older brother nodded, trying to hide his bitterness.

"We're going to grab some lunch and maybe catch an early movie." Mikey added, shrugging on his coat. "So what did you want?"

Gerard took a long sip of his coffee before looking at his brother with a most serious look and folding his hands on the counter in front of him. "What do you think about me starting a band?"

Mikey looked at Gee thoughtfully for several seconds before turning to the door. "I think that's dumb." He admitted bluntly, and left.

Gerard sighed and stared down into his coffee. His ideas always seemed dumb to others and that fact motivated him to pursue them. The idea of starting a band became more and more appealing all of a sudden.

"_And well should I be shocked now? By the last thing you said…. Before I pull this trigger, your eyes vacant and stained. But does anyone notice? But does anyone care?"_

He hummed quietly, taking a few more sips of his coffee. After a few long moments of contemplation, Gerard got up, pulled on his faded black hoodie and walked out the door.

* * *

"Oh, hello, Gerard." Mrs. Iero's nose scrunched up like she had smelled something rotten. Frank's mother had never liked Gerard much. She blamed him for the way the Frank dressed, but it wasn't Gerard's fault. No one could hold influence over Frank Iero; he did as he pleased and didn't give a fuck about anyone else's opinion.

"Is, uh, Frank home?" Gerard stammered. The snooty lady always made him nervous, with her perfectly styled hair and neatly pressed clothes.

"No. He's…. out." She replied bitterly. "Something about joining a band."

_Dammit._ Gerard cursed silently. He was too late.

"He actually believes that it is a wise ambition to have." She continued with a scoff. "He ought to be focusing on his grades so he'll be able to get into a decent law school one day, not running around with a bunch of low-life garage band hooligans."

"Errrr yeah. Well just tell him I stopped by then." Gerard waved and hurried away from the nice, brick home.

He lit a cigarette as he slouchily walked down the street. Deeply inhaling the smoke into his lungs, he noticed he was approaching the music store. This was definitely one of those days where he needed to spend an hour or so just browsing the shelves and listening to samples of new albums. He would definitely be returning home with at least one new cd. He took a few more drags before crushing out his cigarette and entering the store. He loved the dim lighting and shabby interior, also the faint suspicious smell of weed that permeated the air. The carpet was a horrid color that reminded Gerard very much of vomit, the striped wallpaper was peeling off in several large patches, and the windows were nearly completely covered with oddly named band posters. Despite its trashy appearance, the place was known to be the most well-stocked music store in all of Jersey, specializing in obscure and alternative rock music. The store kept up to date on all the newly developing local bands as well, stocking EPs from even the most uncommonly known basement bands in the area. The place just felt like home to Gerard.

He browsed for a long while, occasionally adding a new album to the handful of CDs he had picked up. He was reading the tracks on the back of the newest Husker Du cd when someone bumped heavily into him from behind.

"Sorry man!" A breathless voice huffed.

He turned to see a boy about his age carrying to large cardboard boxes. The kid was extremely tall, looming over Gerard as he shifted the boxes onto a nearby table.

"We just got in a wicked shipment of vintage vinyls." The tall kid informed Gerard as he sliced through the packing tape and removed a stack of records from the box.

"That's pretty rad." Gerard remarked glancing at the albums as the boy thumbed through them excitedly.

"The guitar riffs some of these bands use are fucking genius." The tall kid grinned. "No matter how hard I try my stuff will never sound this sick."

"Oh you play guitar?" Gerard asked, his interest sparked slightly.

"Yeah man." The kid put the records back in the box then, shoving a hand over the curly mass of hair on his head, introduced himself. "My name's Ray, by the way."

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**A/N: Yayyy Ray finally made his appearance! I've had a few people ask if he was going to be in this story and my response was "Duhh. It's not MCR without Ray Toro." So now I hope everyone is satisfied. Ray and Frank will definitely be incorporated a lot more from now on so enjoy. Peace out.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Oh my gosh! I am SO sorry for not uploading in over a month. My computer got a really bad virus and I also got overwhelmed with schoolwork as my finals were coming up, and it was just all too much for me to get anything uploaded. I also apologize because this chapter is only about half the length of a normal chapter. I hate writing pointless chapters, but the urge to update was just too much and I'm really pressed for time so I wrote a quickie. This is a story that I do have every intention of finishing things just may not move along quite as quickly as I would like. But enough of my rambling, here you go! Sorry again for being such a slow updater. I'll try and be better!**

* * *

Gerard had hung around at the CD shop for a while, chatting with Ray and being thoroughly impressed with his knowledge of music. He had casually brought up the concept of starting a band and was pleased by how enthusiastic Ray had sounded. He hummed pleasantly to himself as he walked into his home and kicked off his shoes at the door. He was in the mood to grab another cup of coffee and then retreat to his room to write another song. Gerard heard clanking as he stepped into the kitchen, and found Mikey with his head buried in the cabinet.

"Hey, Mikes." Gerard said as he grabbed the can of coffee from the counter. "Watcha looking for?"

"Where in the fuck do you guys keep your microwave popcorn?" A strangely feminine voice asked in exasperation.

Gerard snapped his head around curiously, as a small girl popped her head up out of the cupboard.

"Alicia?" Gerard squeaked, accidentally knocking the can over and spilling coffee grounds onto the floor.

The girl smirked mischievously, leaning back onto the counter. "How's it going, Dumbfuck?"

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" He demanded, as Mikey entered the kitchen, shirtless.

"Oh. My. God." Gerard gasped, looking from Mikey to Alicia. One of Mikey's black t-shirts was draped over her small frame. "You guys totally did it! You had sex! What the FUCK?"

Mikey's eyes rounded as he shook his head, "No, we just-"

Alicia was grinning like a Cheshire cat as she sauntered over to Mikey and threw her arms around his neck.

"Who would've thought Gerard Way's little brother was sooooo good in bed." She purred, cutting her eyes toward Gerard.

He could only gape at the sight of Barbara's bitchy best friend draping herself on his baby brother.

She smiled and released him, "Mikey, will you make the popcorn? I'll be waiting in your bedroom." She pressed her lips against his and then disappeared down the hall.

"Mikey, what the hell?" Gerard finally yelled.

"WHAT?"

"Alicia? Are you fucking serious?" His older brother hissed. "When did this even happen?"

Baffled at Gerard's hostility Mikey slowly placed a popcorn bag in the microwave and mashed START, before replying. "That night at the party…. I told you I met someone-"

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME IT WAS ALICIA!" Gee bellowed. "How could you leave that out?"

"You n-never asked for her n-name…" Mikey stuttered quietly, staring at his feet.

Gerard was pacing back and forth as he often did when he was troubled. "Mikes, you've gotta stop seeing her!"

"Why the fuck would I do that?"

"Well, first off, she's too old for you." Gee pointed out.

"She's only a junior! She's barely older than me!"

_Oh. _Gerard had assumed she and Barbara were the same age, but then again, Barbara was older than almost everyone else in the senior class.

"You were a virgin!"

"I still am..." Mikey's face turned beet red.

Gerard cocked a brow, "So you're telling me you didn't have sex with her? Then why is she in your shirt?"

Mike wouldn't answer for a long time, finally under Gerard's unrelenting scrutiny, he mumbled, "I kinda spilled coffee all over her other clothes."

The older brother fought off a smile. _That's my dorky little brother that I love. _He thought.

"She's still a bad influence." Gee crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the counter intimidatingly.

Mikey laughed, "And Barbara was a saint, I guess? I'm not as corruptible as you think I am. I've been around the block once or twice, Gee-"

But Mikey trailed off as he realized he shouldn't have mentioned Barbara. She was a touchy subject.

Gerard cleared his throat, "Speaking of Barbara, Alicia is her best friend. You don't need to get mixed up with her crowd, Mikes. Trust me, I've been there. Plus, associating with her is like breaking the brother code or something. You just can't do that!"

Mikey shoved his hand through his short, already disheveled hair and looked his brother in the eye with so much sadness that Gerard's heart dropped a little. "I really like her, Gee. I don't have much luck with girls, you know that. Actually, until now, I have never had _any _luck with girls. I finally get lucky enough to meet an awesome, beautiful girl who actually likes me back, and you don't want me to be with her…. As much as I like her, you're my brother and I'm loyal to you until the day I die. So, if me being with Alicia upsets you, then I'll break things off. Because I just love you that much, Gee. You mean everything to me."

"Michael Way, you are the worst damn actor I have ever met." Gerard rolled his eyes, but slung an arm good-naturedly over his brother's shoulder. "But I sure as hell can't stay mad at you. Whatever, date who you want. If she makes you happy, then I'm happy for you, Bro."

"Thanks, Gee." Mikey grinned, grabbing the freshly popped bag of popcorn from the microwave.

"Good luck with her, though. She's a huge bitch." Gerard added smirking.

Mikey chuckled softly, "Not as much as you think. Trust me."

He turned and strutted down the hall, leaving Gerard shuttering at the thought of Alicia hooking her claws into his baby brother. He couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of pride though, Mikey finally got a girl. A very attractive girl, he had to admit. It was sure more than he had...

_Time to wallow in my sorrows. _Gee thought wryly as he dissappeared into the darkness of his cave-like basement.


	12. UPDATE!

Hey Guys!

So I always swore to myself that I would never do this, but just wanted to put up a quick update saying that I DO plan on finishing this story and have actually been slowly writing a new chapter for the past week. Since it's Thanksgiving break, I'm looking to get it uploaded within the next few days so be on the lookout. Maybe I'll be able to produce more than one for you guys. Don't lose faith in me please, and also reviews are definitely what encourage me to continue writing so any thoughts or comments are welcome! Hope you're all having a great break!


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: I suck, I know. Here's the wayy overdue update that I promised. If you all gave up on me, I understand. If not, then review. Motivate my lazy ass.**

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"What. The. Actual. FUCK?" Frank cried, his fingers entangled frustratedly in his hair. "You're cheating on me!" He flailed his arms around like a mad man.

Gerard rolled his eyes and continued sorting laundry. "Frank, you're overreacting."

"No." The short boy put a finger up, "If I killed you; THAT would be overreacting. I'm HURT, Gerard! My tiny little heart is _broken _and it's all your fucking fault!" He hopped up to sit atop the dryer and crossed his arms. His pierced lower lip was poked out in an exaggerated pout.

Gee sighed, "Frankie, man, it's still just a theory. Ray and I have just been sharing ideas and brainstorming. You are more than welcome to be in the band, if it ever actually becomes a real thing."

"No!" Frank tossed his head. "I don't wanna be in your stupid band now. I should've been the first person you came to! I'm your bestfriend! But nooooo, you consulted the random bozo haired kid you met at the cd shop." He glared his eyes at Gerard. "I see where we stand."

"I already told you I tried to come to you first, but whatever." Gerard huffed as he slammed the washing machine closed and left the room, "Be a drama queen then."

"Where do you think you're going?" Frank called after him.

"I'm meeting Ray at the coffee shop to talk about a new song."

"And now you're truly leaving me for a new bestfriend…" Frank grumbled sadly.

"Look, Midget, you're still my bestfriend, but I've got to go. Mikey should be home in like 10 minutes so you can pester him while I'm gone."

"Pestering Mikey just isn't the same." Frank sighed.

"Well, I'll only be gone a couple of hours so you can pester me when I get back." Gerard inwardly cringed as Frank's face lit up with joy. "Here's some bubble wrap, entertain yourself."

Gerard heard Frank eagerly snapping and crackling the bubble wrap as he walked out the door.

* * *

"_And they might fill your place,_

_A temporary stand in for your face,_

_This happens all the time, _

_And I can't help but think I'll die alone."_

"Well that's….. Optimistic." Ray smirked sarcastically as he read the lyrics Gerard had brought to show him. "So who's the chick that's causing you so much emotional torment, Dude?"

Gerard snatched the paper back, "It's not about me, Man. Can't you tell? It's obviously about a guy who fell in love with a girl at the office and when she left, it created a giant black hole of hoplessness in his heart. And he has clearly just realized he will be lonely for the rest of his sad, monotonous life…."

"So….. the office represents the monotony that you feel surrounded by in your life and this girl just crushed your little heart, draining all the color from your world and leaving you trapped inside a dull, gray metaphorical cubicle." Ray nodded. "Very nice."

"It's not about me!" Gerard exclaimed. "Jesus, Ray, some things in life are meant to be taken in a literal sense."

"But not this." Ray crammed the last of his bagel in his mouth, and saluted as he took the lyrics back from Gerard. "I'll take this home and work on the melody." He put a hand on Gerard's shoulder, "You just hang in there, Man. I hope things work out between you and your girl."

The black haired boy just released a frustrated sigh and banged his head onto the table.

He kept his head down for a few long minutes. He didn't need a girl. All he really needed was some strong booze and a pack of cigarettes. And some more coffee…

"More coffee?" A bubbly voice came from behind him. Slowly, Gerard glanced up and saw a kind faced waitress hovering over him, coffee pot in hand.

"You look like you could use it." She offered gently.

"Umm, yeah. Sure." He muttered, nudging the cup toward her to be filled. He assessed her as she poured the steaming coffee into his mug. She was fair skinned with bright red lips and dark eyes. Her black hair was slicked into two perky pigtails. Her name tag read "Britney".

"Thanks." He nodded.

"No problem." She grinned. "So what's got you so down in the dumps?"

Gerard shrugged.

She put a hand on his shoulder, "Wanna talk about it?" She asked in a manner of exaggerated sympathy.

"Nope. Not really." He hoped she would go away. He felt like a major jerk, but Gerard was just too fed up with his life to care anymore.

Smirking, the waitress walked away shaking her head. Gerard sighed in relief, absent mindedly stirring his coffee. A moment later Britney returned with what appeared to be a chocolate chip muffin. She cheerily placed it in front of him.

"What's this?" He asked warily.

"Well…" She began. "Most people would call it a muffin."

"Well…" Gerard mocked her cheerfully sarcastic tone. "I didn't order it."

"I know." She chirped. "It's on the house! Nothing can cheer a person up like a nice big muffin."

Gerard shook his head good naturedly and rubbed a hand over his face. This girl was something else, that was for sure. And pretty cute, he had to admit. "Thanks, ummm Britney."

She grinned brightly and whispered, "My name's not Britney, I lost my nametag and they haven't replaced it yet."

"Oh, well then what's your real name?" He asked, taking a bite out of the muffin."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She chuckled, clapping a hand on his shoulder again, and giving him a gentle shake. "See you around."

Gerard watched her walk away. She had such a giddy bounce in her step, it made him vaguely wonder how some people could be so damn optimistic. He finished off half of the muffin and threw some money on the table before he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed out the door. He paused in the doorway and glanced back over his shoulder just long enough to see "Britney" wave kindly and send him a wink. He returned an awkward smile (possibly resulting in more of a grimace), and pushed out into the bitter cold weather. He stole one last peek at the diner, only to find himself colliding into another human being.

"Oh my bad!" Gerard apologized as he reached to help steady the girl he had bumped into.

She looked up at him, brushing her long hair out of her face.

Gerard's stomach dropped as he choked out, "Barbara?"


End file.
